6 celebrities who have battled alcohol addiction

Celebrities are known for their excess. You might be more surprised to hear that a celebrity didn't drink, rather than hearing about another Lindsay Lohan-type who was a walking train wreck thanks to their drinking, drugging, and other shenanigans. Yet there are some celebrities who you might be surprised to learn have struggled with alcohol addiction, and who you might learn something from about handling the problem.

Here are six celebrities you might not know have battled alcohol addiction:

Jamie Lee Curtis
Funny lady and actress Jamie Lee Curtis started abusing pain killers after she was prescribed them during recovery from plastic surgery in the late 90s. She also started abusing alcohol during that time, but she later received professional treatment and regained her sobriety. Now, she refers to her recovery as one of the greatest accomplishments of her life.

Stephen King
The master of horror has battled not only alcohol addiction but also drugs. Thanks to a family intervention nearly three decades ago, he was able to get the help he needed and get sober. He has spoken openly about his struggle to stay sober, and he has channeled some of the feelings that he was battling in his addiction through his fiction. (Some of his most famous characters are addict, like Jack from "The Shining.")

Anthony Hopkins
Sir Anthony Hopkins is best known for roles like Hannibal Lecter and his intellectual and reserved demeanor. Yet he also went through a period of alcohol addiction that made him out of control. When he woke up from a binge in another state and didn't know how he got there, he decided to get help. He's been sober ever since.

Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox has had a squeaky clean image, and most recently, he has been in the news thanks to his battle with Parkinson's disease. But the sitcom actor also battled with alcohol addiction. He actually turned to alcohol to help him cope with his diagnosis. Yet he eventually got the help he needed and came to terms with his illness, going on to become an advocate for research and awareness.

Robin Williams
The funny man seemed to live a charmed life, and most of us didn't know any different until he took his own life last year. The comedian had battled cocaine and alcohol addiction in his early career, but he decided to get help after his friend John Belushi died of an overdose. He had a public relapse in 2008, which also contributed to his divorce, but he was able to get the help he needed and regain sobriety.

Daniel Radcliffe
Turns out that the man who played the boy wizard couldn't wave a magic wand to handle his alcohol addiction. He entered treatment in 2010 and did the hard work of recovery. He's been sober for five years now.

Many of us might like to drink from time to time, and we may even engage in occasional binge drinking while we are partying with friends. Yet if you find that you need to drink to relax or feel better, you may have a drinking problems. Other signs that you might be addicted to alcohol include feeling guilty or ashamed after drinking, feeling like you need to hide your drinking, regularly drinking more than you intend to, having family or friends tell you they are concerned about your drinking, or blacking out and forgetting things you did while drinking.

See more information about the signs and symptoms of alcohol abuse http://www.helpguide.org/articles/addiction/alcoholism-and-alcohol-abuse.htm.

You can also learn more about the dangers of binge drinking and what to do about it http://www.greenhousetreatment.com/blog/binge-drinking/.

Finally, if you find that you or a loved one has a problem with alcohol, you can learn more about alcoholism and treatment http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/.